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Invitation to Comment on the Draft Practice Note on the Application of King III in the Non-profit Sector

Tuesday 21 August, 2012 - 13:10

The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA) invites all interested parties and stakeholders to submit written comments to the draft practice note that provides guidance on how King III should be applied in the non-profit sector.

The King Committee has convened a special subcommittee tasked with researching and making recommendations on how the principles and practice recommendations contained in King III will apply in non-profit organisations. The work of the sub-committee culminated in the drafting of a practice note that provides guidance to non-profit organisations on how sound governance could be achieved.

The subcommittee is chaired by Anton van Wyk, a member of the main King Committee and Ansie Ramalho from the IoDSA, and also includes the following representatives from the non-profit sector:

Helen Starke, KDS Consulting

Nicole Copley, N S Copley Consulting (NGOlawSA)

Phiroshaw Camay, Co-operative for Research and Education (CORE)

Tracey Henry, Tshikululu Social Investments

Yogi Nambiar, African Social Entrepreneurs Network (ASEN)

The King Committee recognises the importance and significance of the non-profit sector to address poverty and inequality. The ability to secure funding is critical to financially sustain non-profit organisations and it is necessary that good governance standards are established for donors to assess and measure this within non-profit entities. Uniform standards are also important when auditors perform the assurance procedures on governance that donors rely on to make donation decisions.

The sub-committee reached the conclusion that many of the principles and practice recommendations as contained in the King III Report are applicable to non-profit entities. The non-profit sector, however, faces unique challenges and it is in recognition hereof that the King Committee wishes to give clear guidance on how King III is to be interpreted by non-profit organisations.

King III is recognised as the credible standard for corporate governance in South Africa. There are also other codes and practice guides specifically drafted for non-profit organisations and the sub-committee has incorporated these by reference in order to present a holistic and comprehensive view.

As non-profit organisations are not unique in needing to understand how to interpret and apply King III in their specific environment, the King Committee is extending the work it did on the King III Report to address the specific governance challenges that are faced by other sectors such as the public sector, medical schemes and pension funds. Further communication on this will follow in due course.

Your contribution to this process will be appreciated in the interest of improving governance in the non-profit sector.